The Hidden Agenda in Film

Entertainment is a word that has broad meaning. We all see entertainment through different eyes, and our own experiences in the real world as well entertainment itself, shape what we watch. But when did entertainment become a Socialist self-appointed soapbox? Why is the film industry becoming less about entertaining the audience and more about gaslighting them? Why are audiences being force fed their guilt by media moguls and political opportunists in the form of cinema? I’m still trying to work that out. I can’t speak for everybody; but I can speak for me. I am Jade, and I am a B-Grade, non-PC, exploitation, horror and martial arts lover. I have spent a good portion of my adulthood seeking out the worst of the worst films to entertain me. I am scraping at the bottom of an off-colour, shameful and explicit barrel of shit cinema. I do this because these films do not tell me how to think, or feel. They don’t tell me that I need to fight for what is ‘right’. They tell me to sit my ass down on the couch and watch the shit out of it.

I have been on Twitter since December 2012. I wanted to become a film critic, not some idiot with a film blog, a flimsy opinion and a hipster haircut. After being on Twitter for nearly five years, I see a huge change. I follow 1514 people, and for a couple of years it was a trove of treasures. Everyone was so open with what they watched, and I saw so much support for other film lovers even if they didn’t agree on some films. But now my feed has turned into a toxic cesspool of of this so-called newfound ‘morality’. These same people who I use to gush with over films like Videodrome, are now trying to justify their tastes by making up hidden sub-texts in the films just so people won’t think they have bad or immoral taste. I personally find that despicable.

Sly Stallone as Marion Cobretti in Cobra (1986).

I cannot tell you how many years I have had to defend my taste in film to people. When my love for the film Cobra came into question by a Wes Anderson loving, cardigan wearing, underfed neanderthal, that is when I stopped giving a damn about what people thought of my film taste. That experience opened me up to the idea that B-Grade movie makers do try. They do entertain, and they can pull off something pretty damn great. I find an element in B-Grade cinema that is much more genuine than the Oscar bait that we see today. Speaking of Oscars, why can’t a film award show actually be about films, instead of who can have the most ‘controversially PC’ acceptance speech? I want to see film making being celebrated, I want to see the camaraderie within the creative geniuses that can make something spectacular. Instead we are forced to watch celebrities who earn a lot more than the people paying to see their films complain about how life isn’t fair. When cinema-goers and film buffs pay to see your films, we are paying for the movie. We are not paying for guilt. But because we feel people in the entertainment industry are untouchable – even more – so when they are ‘fighting’ an invisible cause – as an audience we tend to believe every bit of toxic bile disguised as a ‘courageous battle’ that comes out of their mouth.

Since the inception of cinema, filmmakers created stories which mirrored the time they were living in. In each era there are stand-out films which reflect real-life issues, and then there are some which were forgotten or even ended up on the cutting room floor. Only a few were given that greatness and prestige. But now it seems like every filmmaker has a ‘conscience’ and they all appear to be trying to squeeze through this door of acceptance at the same time, so therefore we are living in a market of Socialist ‘over-saturation’. This makes me go to the cinema even less. Social commentary from the internet makes me want to induce myself into a coma, and wake up when it’s over. A great example from the PC brigade was when Avengers: Age of Ultron was released. There was a scene with Black Widow trying to connect with The Hulk by depicting that she was also a monster. The internet went into meltdown because they believed Joss Whedon was a misogynist for portraying Black Widow in that light. Can we just accept that a dramatic and somewhat moving scene was put in an action film to give it a humanistic quality, and that’s it? Why do we need to read into everything?

Scarlett Johansonn as Black Widow in Age of Ultron (2015)

People call me a cynic for not wanting to watch certain films. I would like to think I am more of a realist. I do not like to watch films that have an agenda to segregate people. That is when it stops being an entertainment medium and about pushing personal beliefs and opinions on a much grander scale. I don’t have time to waste my life watching movies which are trying to get me to check my privilege, to make me have a political opinion, or to make me feel guilty for my race, gender or beliefs. I don’t have time to be offended by politically incorrect film scenes, or over-the-top violence or sexually explicit films. I don’t have time for self-loathing when watching a film, because guess what? Film’s are not real. WAKE UP! Do not be scared of telling a group of people what kind of films you watch. Do not be ashamed of liking a specific genre over another. Do not feel bad that you need to shut your brain off for 90 minutes to see a low-brow comedy or a mindless action film. That doesn’t mean are any less of a person, it just means you’re human.

Let’s go back to being sucked into that cinematic vortex of wonder, imagination and creativity. You be in control of your film journey, not the media, not political ‘activists’ and not your so-called friends. Bring back the love in films and get rid of the agenda.